Information storage device with a bridge controller and a plurality of electrically coupled conductive shields

ABSTRACT

A novel information storage device is disclosed and claimed. The information storage device includes a disk drive, a disk drive printed circuit board, and a first conductive shield over the disk drive printed circuit board and electrically coupled to the disk drive. The information storage device also includes a bridge controller printed circuit board and a second conductive shield over and electrically coupled to the bridge controller printed circuit board. The first and second conductive shields are in direct contact with each other. A disk drive interface connector electrically couples the bridge controller printed circuit board with the disk drive printed circuit board. A third conductive shield is attached to the disk drive interface connector and is in direct contact with both the first and second conductive shields.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of information storage devices, and more particularly to mounting systems and housings for information storage devices.

2. Background of the Art

Information storage devices are used to retrieve and/or store data for computer systems and other consumer electronics products. A magnetic hard disk drive is an example of an information storage device. Many information storage devices, including magnetic hard disk drives, are sensitive to their external environment, including mechanical shocks, externally applied forces and electromagnetic fields, contamination, changes in temperature and/or humidity, etc. Therefore, an information storage device's housing and mounting system may affect its performance, reliability, and lifetime.

Many information storage devices are housed within the system for which they retrieve and/or store data. For example, so-called “internal” disk drives are housed within a host computer system for which they store data, and therefore internal disk drives may take advantage of the host computer system for electrical power, electromagnetic shielding, convective and/or conductive cooling, vibration dampening, some degree of isolation from external mechanical shocks, etc.

Other information storage devices are not housed within the system for which they retrieve and/or store data. For example, a so-called “external” hard disk drive includes its own housing, which may provide electromagnetic shielding, vibration dampening, some degree of isolation from external mechanical shocks, and active or passive cooling.

The mounting systems and housings for modern information storage devices must often meet challenging space and cost requirements. Accordingly, there is an ongoing need in the art for improved mounting systems and housings for information storage devices.

SUMMARY

A novel information storage device is disclosed and claimed. The information storage device includes a disk drive, a disk drive printed circuit board, and a first conductive shield over the disk drive printed circuit board and electrically coupled to the disk drive. The information storage device also includes a bridge controller printed circuit board and a second conductive shield over and electrically coupled to the bridge controller printed circuit board. The first and second conductive shields are in direct contact with each other. A disk drive interface connector electrically couples the bridge controller printed circuit board with the disk drive printed circuit board. A third conductive shield is attached to the disk drive interface connector and is in direct contact with both the first and second conductive shields.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an information storage device with first, second, and third shields, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a bridge controller printed circuit board according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a third shield attached to a disk drive interface connector, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the third shield and disk drive interface connector of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 depicts a first conductive shield according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 depicts the first conductive shield of FIG. 5, as coupled to a disk drive according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 depicts a partially exploded view of an information storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

A novel information storage device is disclosed and claimed. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an information storage device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information storage device 100 includes a disk drive 110, a disk drive printed circuit board 120, and a first conductive shield 130 over the disk drive printed circuit board 120 and attached to the disk drive 110 by screws 112. The disk drive printed circuit board 120 may include disk drive controller circuitry to control the rotation of a spindle motor within the disk drive 110 and the motion of an actuator within the disk drive 110. To reduce manufacturing costs, the first conductive shield 130 is preferably fabricated from sheet metal.

Disk drive 110 includes a disk drive top surface 114, a disk drive bottom surface 116, and a disk drive periphery 118. The disk drive 110 defines a Z direction (normal to the disk drive top surface 114) and the disk drive 110 defines a disk drive height 115 measured in the Z direction from the disk drive bottom surface 116 to the disk drive top surface 114. The disk drive 110 may be of various form factors and the form factor substantially determines the disk drive height 115. For example, disk drive 110 may be a 3.5″ form-factor disk drive and have a disk drive height 115 of approximately 25 mm. Also for example, disk drive 110 may be a 2.5″ form factor disk drive and have a disk drive height of approximately 9.5 mm.

The size of the disk drive printed circuit board 120 and of the disk drive 110 may affect various aspects of the design of the first conductive shield 130. For example, the first conductive shield 130 is preferably large enough to substantially cover the disk drive printed circuit board 120 to provide adequate electromagnetic shielding. Also for example, the thickness of sheet metal from which the first conductive shield 130 may be fabricated, may be scaled according to disk drive form factor. For example in the embodiment of FIG. 1, if the disk drive 110 is a 3.5″ form-factor magnetic hard disk drive, then a corresponding sheet metal thickness is preferably in the range 0.8 mm to 1.6 mm. Also for example, if the disk drive 110 is a 2.5″ form-factor magnetic hard disk drive, then a corresponding sheet metal thickness is preferably in the range 0.4 mm to 1.2 mm.

The information storage device 100 of FIG. 1 also includes a bridge controller printed circuit board 140 and a second conductive shield 150 over and electrically coupled to the bridge controller printed circuit board 140. The bridge controller printed circuit board 140 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2, and may, for example, be a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) controller printed circuit board that includes circuitry to control a SATA interface. The bridge controller printed circuit board 140 may, for example, enable the information storage device 100 to transfer data to/from a separate computer system over a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the first conductive shield 130 and the second conductive shield 150 are shown to be in direct contact with each other and also to be attached to each other via screws 152 and spacers 132. Also in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the first conductive shield 130 includes conductive tabs 134 that contact and can help retain the second conductive shield 150.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a disk drive interface connector 160 electrically couples the bridge controller printed circuit board 140 with the disk drive printed circuit board 120. For example, as shown in greater detail in FIGS. 3 and 4, the disk drive interface connector 160 may be a high-rise SATA connector. Preferably the disk drive interface connector 160 includes a rigid plastic body 162 that is at least 6 mm tall. Preferably the disk drive interface connector 160 does not include any cable. Preferably the disk drive interface connector 160 does not protrude from the disk drive 110 more than 6 mm in any direction.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a third conductive shield 170 is attached to the disk drive interface connector 160 and, after assembly, is in direct contact with both the first conductive shield 130 and second conductive shield 150. The third conductive shield 170 may be fabricated from stainless steel, for example. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the direct contact between the third conductive shield 170 and the first conductive shield 130 is provided by conductive protrusions 172 that extend from the third conductive shield 170. Conductive protrusions 172 are shown in greater detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. Considering manufacturing tolerances, the electrical reliability of the direct contact between the third conductive shield 170 and the second conductive shield 150 may be enhanced by the travel of conductive tabs 154 that pertain to the second conductive shield 150 in the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows a closer perspective view of the first conductive shield 130, and FIG. 6 shows the first conductive shield 130 coupled to the disk drive 110, according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6, the first conductive shield 130 includes peripheral capacitive flanges 136, each of which at least partially overlaps the disk drive periphery 118. To accommodate manufacturing tolerances, the peripheral capacitive flanges 136 are designed to be separated from the disk drive periphery 118 in a direction normal to the Z direction by a clearance. For example, if the disk drive 110 is a 3.5″ form factor disk drive, then the clearance may be in the range 0.5 mm to 5.1 mm. Also for example, if the disk drive 110 is a 2.5″ form factor disk drive, then the clearance may be in the range 0.5 mm to 2 mm.

Preferably, each peripheral capacitive flange 136 is dimensioned to overlap the disk drive periphery 118 in the Z-direction by at least 5 times the clearance. For example, if the disk drive 110 is a 3.5″ form-factor disk drive, the overlap is preferably at least 2.5 mm but preferably no more than 25.4 mm measured in the Z direction. Also for example, if the disk drive 110 is a 2.5″ form-factor disk drive, the overlap is preferably at least 2.5 mm but preferably no more than 10 mm measured in the Z direction. Such overlap may provide a desirable level of capacitive electrical coupling between the first conductive shield 130 and the disk drive 110, in lieu of or in addition to direct electrical coupling via screws 112. The peripheral capacitive flanges 136 may also include a plurality of projections 138 for mounting the disk drive 110 and its conductive shields into an exterior housing.

FIG. 7 is a partially exploded view of an information storage device 700, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information storage device 700 includes a housing 702 and a cover 704. The housing 702 and the cover 704 may comprise injection molded plastic, for example. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the second conductive shield 750 includes a conductive tab 758 in contact with the first conductive shield 730. The first conductive shield 730 may also include a conductive tab 734 that contacts and helps to retain the second conductive shield 750.

In the foregoing specification, the invention is described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to those. It is contemplated that various features and aspects of the invention may be used individually or jointly and possibly in a different environment or application. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded as illustrative and exemplary rather than restrictive. “Comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are intended to be open-ended terms. 

1. An information storage device comprising: a disk drive including a disk drive printed circuit board; a first conductive shield over the disk drive printed circuit board and electrically coupled to the disk drive; a bridge controller printed circuit board; a second conductive shield over and electrically coupled to the bridge controller printed circuit board; a disk drive interface connector electrically coupling the bridge controller printed circuit board with the disk drive printed circuit board; a third conductive shield attached to the disk drive interface connector; wherein the first and second conductive shields are in direct contact with each other; and wherein the third conductive shield is in direct contact with both the first and second conductive shields.
 2. The information storage device of claim 1 wherein the second conductive shield includes a first conductive tab in contact with the first conductive shield.
 3. The information storage device of claim 2 wherein the second conductive shield includes a second conductive tab in contact with the third conductive shield.
 4. The information storage device of claim 1 wherein the third conductive shield includes a first protrusion in contact with the first conductive shield.
 5. The information storage device of claim 4 wherein the third conductive shield includes a second protrusion in contact with the first conductive shield.
 6. The information storage device of claim 1 wherein the disk drive interface connector is a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) connector.
 7. The information storage device of claim 6 wherein the disk drive interface connector is a high-rise SATA connector that includes a rigid plastic body that is at least 6 mm tall and does not include any cable.
 8. The information storage device of claim 1 wherein the disk drive interface connector does not protrude from the disk drive more than 6 mm in any direction.
 9. The information storage device of claim 1 wherein the bridge controller printed circuit board includes a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) controller.
 10. The information storage device of claim 1, wherein the disk drive further comprises a disk drive top surface, a disk drive bottom surface, and a disk drive periphery, and wherein the disk drive defines a Z direction that is normal to the disk drive top surface, and wherein the disk drive defines a disk drive height measured in the Z direction from the disk drive bottom surface to the disk drive top surface, and wherein the first conductive shield includes a peripheral capacitive flange that at least partially overlaps the disk drive periphery, the peripheral capacitive flange being separated from the disk drive periphery in a direction normal to the Z direction by a clearance, and wherein the overlap in the Z-direction is at least 5 times the clearance.
 11. The information storage device of claim 10 wherein the disk drive is a 2.5″ form-factor disk drive and the overlap is at least 2.5 mm but no more than 10 mm measured in the Z direction.
 12. The information storage device of claim 10 wherein the disk drive is a 3.5″ form-factor disk drive and the overlap is at least 2.5 mm but no more than 25.4 mm measured in the Z direction.
 13. The information storage device of claim 1 wherein the disk drive is a 2.5″ form-factor disk drive, and wherein the first conductive shield comprises sheet metal having a thickness in the range 0.4 mm to 1.2 mm.
 14. The information storage device of claim 1 wherein the disk drive is a 3.5″ form-factor disk drive, and wherein the first conductive shield comprises sheet metal having a thickness in the range 0.8 mm to 1.6 mm. 